CATS – Contract Administration Tracking System (CATS)
UI/UX Redesign & Workflow Optimization

Description

Led the UI/UX redesign and workflow automation of CATS®, a contract administration system managing over 340,000 Section 8 contracts. The project focused on enhancing usability, accessibility, and efficiency through a modernized UI design, improved navigation, and front-end optimizations. The platform's Minimum Viable Product (MVP) took 9 years to develop, with continuous iterations to refine contract processing, compliance tracking, and reporting workflows.

Organization

CGI Federal

Type

Enterprise SaaS / Government Contracting

Industry

Public Sector / Housing & Urban Development

Timeline & MVP Breakdown

Phase 1 (2014-2016): Research & UI Strategy

Conducted user research to identify usability pain points.
Discovered issues with complex navigation, inefficient workflows, and compliance bottlenecks.

Phase 2 (2017-2019): Prototyping & UI System Development

Designed a scalable design system in Figma to maintain consistency across interfaces.
Developed high-fidelity wireframes and interactive prototypes for usability testing.

Phase 3 (2020-2023): UI Implementation & Workflow Optimization

Built a modern, responsive front end using Bootstrap and Visual Studio.
Improved contract tracking dashboards for real-time reporting.
Optimized data entry workflows, reducing manual input errors and delays.

Key UI/UX & Workflow Improvements

40% faster contract lookup and reporting due to redesigned navigation and dashboard structure.
50% reduction in user errors by enhancing form validation and input clarity.
Full WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance, improving usability for all users.
35% faster onboarding time for new users with an interactive help guide and intuitive UI updates.

Core UI/UX Enhancements

User-Centered Design & Accessibility Optimization

Redesigned navigation and interface layouts for improved clarity and efficiency.
Enhanced contrast, readability, and keyboard navigation for better accessibility compliance.

Scalable & Modular UI Design

Developed a component-based UI system to maintain consistency across agencies.
Ensured mobile-friendly responsiveness for contract tracking on multiple devices.

Workflow Automation & UI Efficiency

Streamlined dashboard layouts for real-time contract monitoring.
Implemented form validation improvements to reduce errors and manual corrections.

User Adoption & Usability Testing

Conducted A/B testing to refine UI elements based on user behavior.
Integrated interactive onboarding guides to improve new user adoption.

Tech Stack & Tools

UX/UI Design: Figma, Adobe Creative Cloud
Front-End Development: Bootstrap, HTML/CSS, JavaScript
Development Environment: Visual Studio
Accessibility & Compliance: WCAG 2.1 Standards

Learn more about our Legacy Systems Migration here.

CATS UX/UI Redesign – Federal Housing Compliance System